Apple releases the first beta of iOS 8.3 to developers

Here’s something just about no one was expecting: Apple has just released its first beta for iOS 8.3 before it’s even officially released the final version of iOS 8.2. As 9to5Mac astutely notes, Apple seeded iOS 8.3 beta 1 to developers on Monday alongside its Xcode 6.3 beta with Swift 1.2. We’re not even expecting iOS 8.2 to finally drop until sometime in March, which makes it a little surprising that Apple is already moving on to 8.3. All the same, the company may be rushing a bit to get all these key updates for iOS 8 out the door before it focuses all its energy on iOS 9.

Earlier on Monday, 9to5Mac also had a huge scoop that Apple will be concentrating on making sure iOS 9 will be significantly more stable than some of its other recent software releases since it’s received complaints from longtime users about major bugs in iOS 8.

“For 2015, iOS 9 is going to include a collection of under-the-hood improvements,” 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman wrote in his earlier report. “Sources tell us that iOS 9 engineers are putting a “huge” focus on fixing bugs, maintaining stability, and boosting performance for the new operating system, rather than solely focusing on delivering major new feature additions.”